My Only Hope
by Trupana
Summary: A Seto/Mai/Joey fic! Why? Because there aren't enough of them! Icy Seto Kaiba and popular Mai Valentine have never gotten along...until Seto discovers her painful secret. Will Joey be the one to save her from herself, or will Seto? UPDATED!
1. Default Chapter

Hey minna (a.k.a "everyone" for those who don't know too much Japanese…join the club!)  Anyhoo, I'm a new Yu-Gi-Oh writer, though I've been a long time Dragonball Z fan and writer.  Check out my story "Gone in A Blink" if you're a fan too.  I just started watching Yu-Gi-Oh, but I daresay that I know quite a bit about the characters.  My favorite characters are Mai Kujaku (Valentine), Joey Wheeler (his Japanese name is too hard to write!), and possibly Seto Kaiba.  Maybe.  Tea is an annoying freak of a whiner, and since I don't want to offend anyone past saying that Tea is so **dang annoying** that I really hate her, she will probably not appear in this fic.  Maybe in a mention or two.  

Well, this story is a Joey/Mai/Seto triangle fiction.  There are too few Mai/Seto fics out there, and I love Mai/Joey fics, so I'm fixing this huge deficit while satiating my love of Mai/Joey fics.  So here goes…

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Seto Kaiba carelessly scuffed the toe of his shiny black dress shoe through the fallen sticks and grass that littered the ground.  Merely glancing coldly at a soggy leaf that had stuck to his shoe, he ignored it and kept walking to the lake.  Maybe if he shadowing his adopted father, entertaining all those "big businessmen" and learning to present "the latest Kaiba Corp. product, guaranteed to make a splash in markets worldwide at release", he might care.  But not here.  Not now.  He wasn't trying to be ungrateful.  Yes, his "father" had rescued him from a life of moving from one concrete orphanage to another, looked after by state wardens no different from an icy penitentiary guard.  And yes, he had been the only one to willing to listen to a desperate, tiny child and adopt his brother as well.  For that, Seto was grateful.  For only that.  Seto Kaiba trudged on through bramble bushes, ignoring the sharp sting of the nettles as he fumed.  He was barely fifteen, a sophomore in high school!  For his "father" to exploit Seto's genius by pressuring to follow after his steps, to pound economics and finance into his head when he should be out making friends, to shape him into the ideal Kaiba Corporation CEO and owner.  That was unforgivable; to save him only to put him in a mold.  Did his father even think about what he wanted?  Did his father only adopt him because he wanted to mold him into a mini businessman?  Did he ever have a choice?  If only he escape…

As he neared the lake, its dull platinum ripples catching the moonlight, his shoulders visibly relaxed.  The sandy beach around the lake was touched only by the wind, sweeping through the tall grasses and delicate flowers that grew along the banks.  The forest around the lake isolated the serene beauty of lake.  The clear water shone like a mirror, reflecting the stars dancing gently overhead, and ghostly breaths of wind came flying across the surface.  Who needed a psychiatrist when you could have all of nature's calming beauty for yourself?  Psychiatrists were for wimps, losers.  Seto smirked slightly as he neared his favorite spot, the place where no one told him what to be or what to do.  Screw supply, demand, and elastic competition!

He stood there rigidly, arms folded across his chest, like the marble statue of a Roman emperor:  cold, solemn, and haunted.  As a chilly wind stirred the crushed sand beneath his shoes, Kaiba bent down to pick up a piece of slate from the lakeside and hurled it into the lake.  If there was one good thing that business did teach him, it was that in this life, you needed to be brutal.  Like cold ice, solid rock.  There was no room for feelings; if you had any, you would be found out and immediately destroyed by your enemies.  They showed you no mercy, and you showed them none.  He picked up another piece of slate, feeling its weight in his cold hand, the solid mass resting heavily in the palm of his hand.  His hand convulsively clenched, and the slate crumbled easily in his hand as he thought about his brother's earlier comment.  

You need to get out more, Seto.  There are so many girls who would love to go out with you.  You need someone to love…

Seto Kaiba snorted.  His brother had looked up at him with his shiny innocent eyes, oblivious to the bitter world that was raging outside.  

"I really should keep him from listening to those pop songs.  They're corrupting his mind." Seto commented idly, watching the crushed slate trickle through his fingers.  Out of all the weak emotions, love was the worst.  Not only did most people mistake animal lust for "true love", but love could and would destroy a person.  Anyone could use the person you loved to manipulate you, to hurt you, to kill you.  Worst, the person you loved could turn on you and break your soul.  He had his soul stolen once, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling.  Seto finished grinding the rest of the slate to dust and let it drop to the hard ground.  Yes, love would ruin you.  And he already had Mokuba to worry about.  He didn't need anyone else.

As his frosty blue eyes stared out vacantly at the smooth waves distorting the clear water, a light reflecting gently off a rippling golden surface caught his attention.  He squinted into the distance at the light.  Something, someone, a dark figure, was huddled on a large rock.  After debating what he should do, he sighed and strode over to where the light was emanating from.  His legs moved smoothly but mechanically, covering more than 5 feet at a time.  He didn't care what or who was on the rock, nor for what reason they were there, Kaiba convinced himself as he strode detachedly toward the rock.  He had nothing to do, and he was curious.  Nothing more.  Plus, the person (or whatever it was) was sitting _his_ rock, the place where he usually sat when he came.  The whole lake should be his secret, and only his.  He sighed again and continued toward the rock, his dark coat flying behind him like a cape.  The stars overhead sparkled, then were gone, blotted out by a black cloud overhead.

            As he neared yards of the large rock, Seto Kaiba squinted his eyes and peered into through the mist at the lonesome golden figure.  He was within 20 feet of the rock when Kaiba's usually cold, unperturbed expression dropped into an expression of shock.  The person on the rock, equally shocked, looked up with wide violet-maroon eyes and quickly whipped her head away, golden waves streaming behind her.  But she was too late.  Seto Kaiba had seen her tear-stained, wind-reddened cheeks, and her large glassy eyes.  

"Mai?" he said, his voice filled with more shock (and possibly emotion) than he cared to show.  

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That's the end of this chapter.  Review if you want more…I promise there'll be more action next time.  A little fight with Mai and Seto, who by the way, are not all too friendly at school.  There will be a sweet resolution though.  And why _is_ Mai crying on the lake?  Looks like popular Mai Valentine and cold Seto Kaiba might have more in common than they think.

See ya later!


	2. Author's Note

Hey my faithful readers,

            You have no idea how much I love you guys.  You are the best!  I would send all of you e-mails and plates of cookies if I could, but unfortunately, my wallet is empty and I haven't even had time to write the chapters of my stories.  But keep those reviews coming!  They're fuel to my writing ability…

            However, I've been really, really busy these few weeks.  Months, really.  College stuff, scholarship stuff, and AP tests coming up has really got me bogged down.  As well, my dad messed up the computer, and all the starts to my new chapters are gone.  *sob sob*  So please forgive me and continue to wait patiently.  Don't forget about me.  

            I want to reward you guys for being so faithful and patient.  So on May 28, I will give you guys at least two chapters of each story.  I mean LONG CHAPTERS.  So please wait.  And if you want me to publish then sooner, write a review and encourage me, PLEASE!

Thank ye for your encouragement and help.

See you in May.

Trupana 


	3. Dig Deeper

*sob* I'm so happy! *sob*  You all make me so happy!

Do you know why?  Do you care why?  Heh heh, I'll tell you anyway.

I've written 4 chapters of In A Blink of An Eye, and gotten 17 reviews.

I wrote one chapter of My Only Hope, and I get many more reviews.  

Now guess.  Which one makes me happier?

Heh heh.  Thank you guys sooooo much!

By the way, MoshiMoshiQueen, the Joey/Mai stuff won't come for around 4 chapters, because the story is only at the pre-anime state right now, and Mai and Joey only become good friends before her senior year.  She's a freshman right now!   I hope you'll stick around for the conflicts though!

To the rest, who are undoubtedly devoted Mai/Seto fans, heh heh.  These chapters are for you (and so are later ones!).

            By the way, your review make me feel guilty and make me write more, faster!  Thanks!  Keep it up!

By the way, this story starts pre-Yu-Gi-Oh, way before Duelist Kingdom.  Seto is a sophomore, and Mai is a freshman.  Both go to Parochia Preparatory School (a private school).  Duelist Kingdom and Battle City happen during Mai's summer before senior year.  Both will transfer to Domino High School during senior year.  

CHECK BACK TOMORROW!  I WILL UPDATE!  THIS CHAPTER IS NOT FINISHED!

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Mai's eyes opened wide at the sound of Seto's voice.  But she was as skilled of an actress as she was popular, and she quickly recovered.  She pulled her white hooded sweater more tightly around herself and defiantly turned her head away from Kaiba's gaze, quickly blinking away her unformed tears.  She stared at the glass surface of the water, jaw clenched tightly in a defensive gesture.  

Seto, tired of being ignored and having to stare at the defiant golden waves on the back of Mai's head, was reverting to his old, icicle self.  Impatient, yet unexplainably curious, Seto scowled and stared at the dark sky above their heads.  

"What are you doing here, Kujaku?"  he said with a light sneer, "Shouldn't  Ms. Popular be out partying with all her little preppy friends and flirting with the jocks?"  This struck a chord in Mai, and she whipped towards Seto, maroon eyes blazing reddish in the moonlight.

"Why are you out here, Kaiba?"  Mai spoke contemptuously, flipping her golden hair over her shoulder.  Then she paused sarcastically, in mock surprise, "Oh.  I forgot.  You're a cold loner who thinks only of himself."  Something flickered in Seto's eyes, but was quickly replaced by steel-cold anger, coiled tightly and barely restrained.  A tense moment of silence passed between the two as they glared at each other.  Mai finally turned her eyes away, repulsed by the blizzard that whirled in his eyes.    

They must have stood there forever.  Or maybe only a minute.  But the tension was thick, unbearable.  Mai drew her knees more closely in, as if to shield herself from another blow.  Seto mentally braced himself against another verbal shot, while trying to sort out the fog of numbness in his brain; the famously cold, never ruffled Kaiba was unusually flustered and irritated…and curious. But why?

Resentfully, and angrily, Seto kicked the ground.  He hated not being in control of every situation and every feeling, and right now, he was not in control of either.  He clenched and unclenched his jaw; with other people, he could assert his superiority.  He was untouchable, impenetrable, too far above them.  _They could not reach him, evoke his feelings, make him __feel, make him human.  But now, _she_ was higher, the golden girl in the ivory tower, far out of his peasant-like ability to reach or hurt.  But now, this __little girl…._

He gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing, and spat out his next words like poisoned darts.

"Why don't you get off my rock and get back to the real world, Barbie doll."

Seto winced as the words came out of his mouth.  It sounded so petty, so childish, something Mokuba's classmates would say.  But it was too late to take them back, too late for his pride to withdraw the darts, too late for the barbs headed straight for the blank of the target.  

Seto half-expected Mai to toss her golden hair scornfully, turn her back on him, and scoff at the pathetic attempt to hurt her.  But as he stared incredulously, the usually invulnerable girl perceptibly trembled at the cruel words.  Though they were far from physical arrows, the words visibly hit Mai.  A red tint diffused through her violet eye, as though the taunts had wounded her in her eyes, her very soul.  They were filled with blood, anger, tears of indescribable pain.  

"How dare you…how could you!  How could you judge _me?  You don't know anything about me.  You've never lived life in my shoes.  __I don't know the real world?  Are you saying _my_ life is fake?  How do you know who I really am?  You see me at school.  You've seen only __one facet of my life, and perhaps the only good facet.  You've never had to go home to face…"  Mai stopped suddenly, slowly unclenched the muscles that she had tensed during her rage, blinked away the angry, distressed tears that formed in her eyes, trembled in the moonlight.  She turned her head away from Seto, with quiet rage, "You of all people have no right to judge me."_

Seto heard her words, as silent as they were, and as they slowly absorbed into his blood, his eyes grew dangerously dark…and mortally wounded.  

"Why is that?"  he spoke softly, dangerously low.  Unaware of his pained anger, Mai acted on her own.  

"Because you're selfish and cold-hearted.  _You're the one who needs to come back to the real world.  You're always provided for, always the center of attention.  You avoid life by acting like you're better than everyone else and don't have to experience everyday problems.  You could care less if anyone else is hurt or in trouble.  All that matters is that you're not hurt or troubled or bothered.  _

You've never had to hide yourself.  _You've never had to stay in hiding all of your life!_  You've never felt what it's like to be scared and to have to act confident, to be hurt and wounded and have to act perfect.  And you know what?  You don't have to worry about those very real everyday problems, because you're Seto Kaiba, and you don't have to do anything you don't want to do.

You think everyone is dirt, and you think I'm dirt.  How can you possibly understand me if you don't even believe that I'm human?  You have _nothing _in common with me, so _don't try to judge me_!"  

She sobbed, her throat closing in furious passion.  She covered her face with her hands, and her hair fell over her face like a golden nun's veil.     

Seto Kaiba stood straight, shoulders trembling.  His jaw tensed.  His fists clenched.  His throat stopped.  The storms in his eye whirled, grew, spun, exploded and suddenly, the thunder flashed.  Seto could contain himself no longer.

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            What will happen?  Why is Seto so angry?  Could something in Mai's words have struck a chord in Seto?  Through their anger, Mai and Seto will find that they are more alike than they think.  So tune in TOMORROW!  I WILL UPDATE TOMORROW!  THIS CHAPTER IS NOT FINISHED!  I love you all, so keep reviewing!

            ~Tru


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